


The Greatest Akuma

by HikariMelody



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Childhood Memories, Childhood Trauma, Drama, Drama & Romance, F/M, Family Drama, Friendship, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-08
Updated: 2019-12-10
Packaged: 2021-01-25 06:50:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21352018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HikariMelody/pseuds/HikariMelody
Summary: Hawk Moth has lost his patience and wants the Miraculous now. He decides to enact his final plan that he has been steadily working on in the shadows. He will create the greatest akuma possible using his very own son as the core.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 26
Kudos: 68





	1. Exile

It is a bit late, but decided to try and do NaNoWriMo with this fic. I am not sure if I will post every day, but I am going to try and finish this by the end of November. It is a shorter fic of an idea I've had for awhile. If you read my other ML fanfic, I still plan to continue that one. I am just unsure when that exactly is. But I hope you enjoy this one in the meantime. :)

**Chapter 1**

**Exile**

Gabriel scowled at the picture in his hand before placing it on the table and pushing it to the person sitting on the other side. Lila picked it up and peered at it.

“I'm sure you know who this person is. I have been seeing her around my son too much lately and do not approve of it. I want you to separate them. For good. I don't care how you do it. Just make sure it is permanent.”

“You can count on me, Mr. Agreste,” assured Lila as she set the picture of Marinette back on the desk.

~*~

“Marinette, you are going to be late!” called her mother.

“I'm coming!” she said then tripped and fell down the last three steps from her bedroom. “I'm okay!” She tore threw the kitchen and headed down the steps to the bakery.

“Marinette! Don't forget about the macaroons we made together yesterday!” said her father as she ran past him.

She turned back and grabbed the box on the counter. “Thank you, Papa! Have a good day.”

She rushed out the door and ran toward her school.

“I'm sorry the akuma kept you up so late last night, but I think if you hurry, we might make it to school on time today,” said Tikki from Marinette's purse.

“I am going as fast as I can so hopefully.”

Marinette ran into her class with a few minutes to spare and greeted her classmates. They were all standing in the back of the class, facing away from her. Marinette set the box of macaroons on the teacher's desk as Lila came into the room.

“Good morning, Marinette,” greeted Lila. “Oh you brought in snacks today? I'm sure they will be delicious.”

“Uh... Yeah. Thanks, Lila. I hope you like them,” stammered Marinette uneasily.

“Marinette, come see this!” called Rose.

Marinette waved good bye to Lila before heading to the back of the classroom to see what the commotion was about.

“I gave Markov an upgrade last night,” said Max.

“That is so cool,” said Marinette when she saw the upgrades Max had made.

They all talked animatedly about it as Adrien and Nino walked into the room. Nino immediately ran to the back of the class to be with Alya. Adrien was about to when he noticed Lila close a box that was on the teacher's desk. She smiled at him when their eyes met.

“Good morning, Adrien,” she said before going toward the rest of their classmates. “That is so neat, Max. You know, my uncle is super into robotics, too. He works for this company in Japan that makes androids.” She continued on with her story that was surely a lie as most of her stories were.

Miss Bustier entered the room. “Good morning, class. Everyone to their seats.” The students began to sit in the chairs as she went to her desk and saw a box on the desk with the Dupain-Cheng Bakery logo on it. “Marinette, did you bring something to share with the class?”

“Yes, Miss Bustier. Can I pass them out?”

“That is so thoughtful, Marinette. You can go ahead.”

“Miss Bustier, can I help?” asked Lila.

“You certainly may.”

Lila got up and walked to the front of the class. Marinette gave her an odd look as Lila grabbed a stack of the macaroons with a napkin, but didn't say anything. They walked from student to student who grabbed one of the macaroons they offered. Lila came to Adrien's row. Adrien was about to grab one before Lila stopped him.

“This is the one you want, Adrien. Trust me,” she said as she handed him the macaroon that was farthest in her stack.

Adrien gave her puzzled look, but accepted the one she gave him while she gave him a sly smile. Shortly after class began and the students became in immersed in learning the lesson for the day. That was until Rose's hand shot up.

“Miss Bustier, Juleka doesn't feel so good. Can I take her to the nurse's?” asked Rose then suddenly put her hand on her mouth. “On second thought, I don't feel too good either. Can we both go?”

Alya held her stomach. “Miss Bustier, me too!”

“Can I be excused? I'm about to hurl,” said Alix.

The rest of the class groaned in agreement. Almost the entire class rushed out of the room, leaving Marinette and Adrien gaping from their seats. Miss Bustier hurried after them to make sure they were okay. Lila slowly sauntered down the steps of the class. She placed her hand on Marinette's desk and leaned toward her.

“I told you not to, Marinette. Now look at what you did. The class will not be happy when they find out about your little joke. No one here thinks you're funny.”

Marinette's eyes narrowed in confusion. “I have no idea what you are talking about, Lila.”

Adrien turned toward them with wide eyes and whispered in horror, “Lila. What did you do?”

Lila shrugged. “I didn't do anything. It is Marinette who is the practical joker. Now excuse me while I tell the Principal about what you did.”

It was shortly after that Marinette was called to the Principal's office and her parents joined her. They stayed in there for a very long time.

~*~

“I am soooo sorry, everyone. I saw Marinette putting something on the macaroons when she put the box on the teacher's desk. I asked her what she was doing and she told me it was a special ingredient to make class more interesting. I had no idea she was planning to do something so horrible to all of you or I wouldn't have helped her pass them out,” apologized Lila in fake tears to the class who were all sitting in the nurse's office.

~*~

Since most of the class was ill, school was called short for Miss Bustier's class. When they returned the next day, the students were feeling much better. Marinette's parents had managed to avoid Marinette being expelled by agreeing that they must have made a mistake when making the macaroons and that Marinette won't share food again. However everything was not okay because her classmates all believed Lila's lie and refused to associate with her anymore. She was ignored in class. She was ignored at lunch. She was ignored in the library. In the halls. In the bathrooms. And even after school. The only one who believed that she didn't do it was Adrien, but she could barely hold a conversation with him to begin with.

Adrien went home that day feeling so upset and empty. Why did Lila have to do that? Marinette never did anything to her to cause such hatred. Before Marinette was bullied by Chloe, but Chloe was not clever like this. Lila knew just where and when to strike to cause the most damage. Adrien frowned in thought as he entered his Father's office.

“You wanted to speak to me, Father?”

His Father did not even turn toward him as he ferociously worked on something on his computer. “Yes. I heard about the incident that happened at your school yesterday and I am not pleased. First they allow several of your classmates to rampage across Paris and now they are letting a known poisoner continue to go to your school and be in your class? I will not have it. If they do not remove that girl from your class, then I will remove you.”

“What,” said Adrien in shock. “Father, Marinette is my friend. She didn't do that.”

Gabriel stopped what he was doing and looked up at Adrien who stood on the other side of the room, not even daring to enter the office further. “Is that so? I was just going to have you switch classes, but it seems she has poisoned more than just food. I am removing you from that school. You will return to your home studies.”

Adrien gasped. “Father, please. Don't do this. I wasn't even sick.”

Gabriel returned to his work on his computer. “Perhaps not this time, but if you are there, then there could be another. I will not have it.” He pulled a letter out of his desk and placed it on top. “You will hand this letter to your Principal tomorrow and that will be the last time you ever set foot in that school.”

“But Father-”  
  


“Correct. I am your Father and what I say is final. I am not so cruel. I am just looking out for your welfare. Now take this letter and say goodbye to the children you call your friends because you will not be seeing them again anytime soon. And if you complain again, I will have Natalie deliver the letter herself instead.”

Adrien ducked his head down and stared at his shoes as he slowly walked across the room to grab the letter. “Yes, Father.”

~*~

“It's time, Natalie. The final strike to enact my greatest plan is about to happen,” said Gabriel as he entered his hidden room of butterflies.

~*~

Adrien slowly walked down the steps from the Principal's office after delivering the letter from Gabriel detailing about how Adrien was being removed from the school and why. His thoughts were a whirlwind in his head. It was still early in the day before classes. His classmates were standing in the lobby in a group with Marinette a distance away from them alone. He wished there was something he could do to make things right. He wanted to say goodbye to all of them, but at the same time, he felt a boiling anger toward them for believing such an obvious lie. This rage was quickly rising and had no outlet.

“Good morning, Adrien,” greeted Lila when Adrien got to the bottom of the steps. “Did you know my grandmother is a world renowned baker? She makes the most delicious macaroons you will ever taste. I don't understand why the Dupain-Cheng Bakery is so popular when they are not anywhere near as good. I should bring some in sometime so you can taste what a macaroon is meant to tas-”

“SHUT UP!” screamed Adrien suddenly. Everyone in the lobby hushed into silence and turned to Adrien in surprise. They had never heard him get upset before. Frustrated tears leaked out of his eyes. “You are always doing this, Lila! You twist everything people say and turn them against one another! You spread cruel rumors against people that don't deserve it! You made everyone hate Marinette because she was the only one who didn't believe all your little lies. Everything that comes out of your mouth is a lie. You lie about your family, the people you know, yourself, and everything else. No one here cares if you traveled to this place or know that person yet you feel the need to make your life sound more interesting.

“I have tried to be your friend. I truly did. But I am tired of this. I am tired of the lies and the stress. And you know what I gained from this friendship? A knife in my back! It's not worth it! So I quit. I quit! I am not your friend and go ahead and twist my words that I am speaking this very moment just like you do to Marinette. I give you full reign to! Twist them and twist them until you look like the victim and I am just a big fat jerk who screamed at you in the lobby! Because you know what? It doesn't even matter anymore. I am not even going to go to this school anymore because of you.”

The class stood in bewilderment from the sudden outburst. Lila opened her mouth to retort. But before anyone could even react from it, the silence of the scene was filled with loud wing flaps. An akuma hovered over their school, so large it completely blocked out the sky. It let out an inhuman screech so loud that it shook the very structure of the building. A few students stood still, eyes glued to it. Some screamed. Some fled. Adrien stood, rooted to ground, tears still streaming down his face. He took a petrified step back. He could feel the akuma being drawn toward him and somehow knew that it was somehow for him. He had never seen one so big and didn't even it was possible for one to be so gigantic.

“I called that?” he whispered before he finally turned and tried to run.

It was a futile attempt and he knew it. Deep purple slime shot out of it in thin lines like arms as the akuma screeched again. They wrapped around Adrien and pulled him back. He continued to try to run, but they were so strong that he was running in place. He would shake one arm free only for the other to become trapped. It's enormous wings flapped as it continued to try and trap him. It created a whirlwind inside the school that whipped his hair and clothes around. The wind was too much and sent Plagg flying out of his jacket.

“Kid!” Plagg shouted in panic as he tried to fly back to him.

The wind was too strong and he couldn't get close to him. Plagg was right out in the open for all to see, however no one noticed him as they were too distracted by the giant akuma and Adrien being trapped by it. That is, everyone except Marinette, who had been running toward the bathroom to transform when she saw him be flung out into the open. She stopped in surprise as she stared at Plagg trying to get back to Adrien. Everything clicked into place faster than she could process it. It all made sense. Adrien was Cat Noir. Perhaps him being the bringer of bad luck is why the akuma meant for him was so impossibly large.

The slime arms continued to wrap around Adrien. He could feel them entering his body before they even merged with an item. Hawk Moth's voice was already filling his mind without them creating a pact yet.

“My, my. I was not expecting this. I have wanted to akumatize you for awhile and had no idea you would turn out to be that pesky brat, Cat Noir. Makes things easier. Now I already have one Miraculous and just have to make you to get me the other one,” said Hawk Moth who obviously seemed very pleased with himself.

So he had noticed Plagg. Adrien panted in exhaustion from the fight. There was no way he could keep this up for much longer. So he made a quick decision of the best route to this. If he became Cat Noir now, everyone else there would know and even if he did, it was quite possible he would still not be able to escape then it would definitely be bad. Adrien being akumatized was one thing, but Cat Noir? What if it entered his ring? Only his power can destroy a Miraculous. He knew what he had to do. “That's where you are wrong, Hawk Moth. You might have me, but you don't have my Miraculous. I will never allow you to.”

“What are you doing?” shouted Hawk Moth in alarm.

Adrien pulled his right arm free to allow him to reach for his left hand. He pulled off his ring. “Plagg! Catch!” He threw it as hard as he could. Plagg caught it in the air and flew away. “Good luck catching a kwami, Hawk Moth. They are quite fast and slippery.” He laughed right before the akuma finished capturing him from his distraction of saving his ring. He was completely encased in the slime and dragged away to the skies.


	2. Prelude

Sorry this took longer than expected, but I am still working on this. I just got distracted by the new season of She-ra, Disney Plus, and family stuff. But then I watched the newest episodes of Miraculous Ladybug and I got inspired to continue. Anyone see the Cat Blanc episode? Hawk Moth was just as bad in that as he is in my fic! I was actually surprised by that since I thought my version of Hawk Moth was worse. Nope. He is just a terrible human being.

For anyone wondering when this story takes place, it takes place sometime in the early part of season 3 since that is when I thought of it. So without any spoilers to people who are not caught up on season 3, that means no additional superheroes other than the ones shown in season 2 and the events with Fu are yet to happen. I thought about adding them in, but felt it bogged down the story too much with unnecessary characters. Also (spoiler) this is my version of an akumatized Adrien, so it will not match the canon version.

**Chapter 2**

**Prelude**

Marinette sat on her bed with her legs pulled tight to her body. She stared at the wall in front of her without really seeing it. Her mind was still whirling with thoughts. All her memories of Cat Noir and Adrien were blending together now that she knew that they were one and the same. Her heart ached with the realization that she had been the one pushing him away all this time and learning Adrien had this side of himself that was so different from his everyday self was so strange. Which was the real Adrien?

Marinette pulled at her hair in frustration. It didn't matter which it was! He was an akumatized victim now and it was her job as Ladybug to save him. But she was going to have to go through this battle without Cat Noir by her side and judging by the size of that akuma, he was going to be a powerful one and she couldn't just rush into the fight like always. She needed to come up with a plan, but the memories kept playing over her head and she couldn't focus.

“Marinette, you can't stay here forever. We have to help him,” said Tikki.

Marinette put her hands over her ears and tried to block out Tikki's insistent chatter. She knew she had to leave her room at some point to save Paris once again, but she needed time to sort out her thoughts. A soft knock at the hatch at the stairs to her bedroom disturbed her musings. Tikki hid behind her pillow as Alya came into view.

“Hi, Marinette. You probably don't want to see me right now after how I have been treating you the last few days and I wanted to apologize for that. I'm supposed to be your best friend, yet I didn't even give you the time of the day to say your side of the story. I was just so upset about the situation after puking my guts out for like ten hours. I know that is just an excuse, but I am ready to hear what really happened if you are willing to talk to me,” said Alya.

During everything that happened, somehow Marinette had yet to shed a single tear, but speaking to Alya brought her back to reality and suddenly everything felt so much more real. Tears began to fall from her eyes. “Lila is always doing this. She lies constantly to make herself sound more interesting and when I pointed out her lies to her, she realized she couldn't fool me. So instead, she tormented me like this. Adrien was the only one who believed me, but he tried to remain friends with her in hopes that she would stop. He told me that it was okay because we knew the truth, but it's not okay. I feel like... what happened to Adrien... it's all my fault!” She pulled at her hair again.

Alya quickly climbed up to her bed and threw her arms around Marinette. “This is not your fault! Lila pushed him. She pushed all of us. We should have trusted you more. I know you are not a bad person and would not try to hurt others like that. I should have listened to you more when you said you didn't like Lila.”

“This _is_ my fault. If I just never started this fight with Lila, she wouldn't have gone to this extent to get rid of me and then Adrien wouldn't have somehow felt responsible to fix it since he also knew the truth.”

“Don't you hear yourself, Marinette? Adrien wasn't akumatized because you are a nice person. He was because Lila is two faced.” Alya gave her a tight squeeze before letting go. “And don't you worry about this all. Soon Ladybug and Cat Noir will be here to fix everything as always. Just leave it to them. I'm going to get going. I am going to film it all. You'll see. Everything will be fine.”

Alya excused herself from the room and Marinette tried to stifle her sobbing to no avail. A knock came from her window and Plagg appeared before Marinette. He was wearing the Cat Noir Miraculous as a belt. Their eyes met and they stared at each other for several seconds without saying anything.

“Cat Noir can't come on this mission. He was caught up in the akuma and only I was able to get out of it. I'm sure if you de-evilize the akuma, he will be fine,” said Plagg.

“You can stop with the charade, Plagg. I already know the reason Cat Noir isn't coming. He _is_ the akuma,” said Marinette in a small voice.

“Then you already know just how much he needs you right now. Please. Help me save my kid. He is fighting this akuma with all his might, but he can't fight forever.”

Marinette's eyes widened. “Are you saying Adrien is still not akumatized?”

Plagg held his paw to his heart. “We might be separated, but he is still Cat Noir. We have merged so many times that are souls have become entwined just like yours is with Tikki. I can feel his emotions no matter where he is and I can feel his fear and determination right now. His mind has yet to be fully poisoned, but that akuma is strong and meant for him. He can't break away from it.”

“What do you mean, meant for him? Aren't all akumas meant for their victim?”

Tikki flew to beside Plagg. “Not quite. The akumas that have always been sent to the victims so far are not their victim's own emotion. They are made by Hawk Moth's negative thoughts and they latch onto the negative thoughts of others and merge. They always felt the same, but this one felt different.”

“It felt like they were made of Adrien's own negative emotions instead of Hawk Moth's. This giant akuma was no fluke. Someone has been draining Adrien's negative emotions for awhile and storing them to make that _thing_. It is like a heat seeking missile targeting specifically Adrien. It's not even possible for him to escape it forever.”

“And for someone to do that to Adrien, he would have to be in constant contact with Adrien in order to accomplish that,” said Tikki.

Marinette hands tightened on her legs. “That means Hawk Moth is someone near Adrien and our final battle with Hawk Moth is nearing. I can't do this alone. Let's go see Master Fu.”

~*~

“_I have faith in you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I am sure you will be able to save him. Who will you pick to fight by your side?”_

“_I will need everyone to fight by my side.”_

“_Are you sure? They could all potentially find out who Adrien truly is.”_

“_I trust them. They have kept their own secrets and they care about him as well.”_

“_Even the Bee Miraculous?”_

“_Chloe is one of Adrien's best friends. I might not get along with her, but she does care about him.”_

~*~

“Ladybug!” called a familiar voice.

Ladybug stopped swinging through the streets and came to a stop. Alya and Nino were standing together in an alleyway and stiffly motioned for her to enter.

“Ladybug, my best friend has been akumatized! Please let me become Carapace to save him. I can't just stand around doing nothing!” pleaded Nino.

“That boy who has been akumatized. He's... My best friend... She loves him very much and she is crying her eyes out over this. Please, Ladybug. Let me help you so I can return him safe and sound to her,” begged Alya.

Ladybug was touched that Alya and Nino cared so much about Adrien and herself to ask her to let them help. She smiled at them, but that smile still felt sad. She pulled out their Miraculous and offered them.

“Thank you for caring so much about that boy. In fact, I would love for you join me in this. You see, Cat Noir is on his own top secret mission and can't help me with this akuma so I will need back up. Are still up for the challenge?” asked Ladybug.

“We are always ready whenever you need us, Ladybug,” said Alya and Nino together before transforming into Rena Rouge and Carapace.

“Thank you for joining me,” said Ladybug, “But before we go any further allow me to introduce you to someone.” Plagg came out from behind her hair. He was still wearing the Cat Noir ring. He had absolutely refused to allow her to go without him. “This is Plagg and he will be our guide to where Adrien is. He can sense the akuma and that will make it easier to find where he went.” She clenched her fist in front of her face in hopes it showed them she was confident in this plan.

“It's totally cool to meet you, Plagg dude,” greeted Nino.

Alya raised an eyebrow at Plagg. “Aren't you Cat Noir's kwami? Why are you away from him?”

“He's on a very top secret mission. So secret that I can't even be there, but I will make myself useful here instead,” replied Plagg with a shrug.

Alya looked at him skeptically, but did not ask further. Plagg pointed them in the direction of the Eiffel Tower and they began to run toward it. However when they were still probably about five kilometers away from it, they came upon a deep purple mist that was so thick, they couldn't see anything on the other side of it. It was slowly oozing to engulf more of Paris. As it touched objects, they twisted into something more sinister. It touched a street light and they could hear the metal screeching as it twisted until the light was upside down shining light above it with blade protruding all over it. When it touched a car, it twisted until seemed like the car had a face screaming in agony with blades jutting out it. When it touched the buildings, they twisted to become crooked and blades coming out of it here and there. Everything was gaining rather razor sharp looking blades all over them.

“What is this stuff?” asked Rena Rouge as she stepped away from it.

“I thought you said Adrien wasn't akumatized yet,” said Ladybug.

“He's not. His transformation is still not complete. This stuff is what is leaking out of him of what has been transformed so far. But his mind is still not consumed yet,” replied Plagg.

“Adrien is causing this creepy fog and he isn't even an akuma yet? We have to get to him soon or this will get even worse!” said Carapace.

“How will we do that if this fog is everywhere? Look at what it is doing to objects. What will it do to us?” said Rena Rouge.

“Nothing. It only effects things. Not people.”

They turned to see Chloe walking out of the fog and seemed to be perfectly fine. She walked up to Ladybug.

“You barely ever let me fight, Ladybug. I know it is because using me is dangerous since Hawk Moth knows who I am, but please. Adrikins is in there and he is one of my very best friends. I have to help him! Our bond is strong and I am sure I will be of way more use than anyone else when it comes to him,” said Chloe.

“I was thinking the same thing, Queen Bee. Please join us in this battle to save him,” said Ladybug.

“Thank you, Ladybug,” she replied as she took the Bee Miraculous being offered to her.


	3. Figments

So clearly I didn't make it this NaNoWriMo, but I still plan to complete this fic. We are either at or near the halfway point now. I have been working on this chapter off and on all this time. I got busy with holidays and family stuff. Also Pokemon Sword. Lol Anyone watch the finale of Miraculous? I am so pumped for season 4 and have so many theories of what is going to happen in it! :)

**Chapter 3**

**Figments**

"Does anyone else hear that laughter?" whispered Carapace nervously.

They were walking along the road through the thick dark purple fog. It moved unnaturally and at times they couldn't see two steps in front of themselves then another moment, they would be able to see the entire road. Despite that, they could still see each other without any problem. Sometimes the fog would move to allow them to see the twisted buildings, streetlights, cars, and signs. There didn't seem to be any people in sight nor could they hear any. What they could hear was much worse. There was a soft chuckling that would last for a few seconds then play again about ten seconds later.

“This place is so creepy. I've been in more pleasant places in my own nightmares,” said Rena Rouge as she walked closer to Carapace as they continued to move forward.

Golden cat eyes would appear in the mist to watch them only to disappear again. Blurred black shapes of people would take form in the mist, but when they walked toward them, they would vanish. Tiny flowers were growing between the cracks in the roads, but they were not normal flowers. There were dark yellow almost brown colored that slowly danced and sang rooted to their spot. Their songs seemed to be incoherent mumbling with the occasional word being able to made out. So far the only words Ladybug had been able to pick out as she walked were “kitty”, “alone”, and “lady”.

“This place is so whack. Are you sure Adrien is not akumatized yet, little cat dude?” asked Carapace.

“I am sure of it. If he was, this place would be way worse,” replied Plagg as he pulled up the ring he was wearing. It was slipping from his waist at times and needed to be readjusted.

“This place can get worse? I have never seen an akuma this powerful before. It is altering reality and you're telling me this is just the beginning? What makes Adrien so different from anyone else that he is capable of doing all of _this_,” said Rena Rouge as she gestured to everything around her.

“Because somehow Hawk Moth was able to make an akuma the size of the school. I'm not sure how he did that, but I am going to be sure he never does it again,” replied Ladybug.

“Hawk Moth will pay for what he has done to Adrikins! Anyone who dares harm him will regret it!” said Queen Bee angrily.

“So you actually care about Adrien?” asked Carapace.

“What a ridiculous question! Of course I do! He has been one of my very best friends since we were adorable little kids!” yelled Queen Bee.

“Well you have a weird way of showing it.”

Queen Bee walked toward him in anger and poked him on the chest. “I am trudging through this utterly disgusting place to save him and you think I don't care?! Sure I hate a lot of things, but never Adrikins! Have you met him? He is one the kindest and most understanding people I have ever met. It is not possible to hate him. That's why anyone who could has to get away from him.” Her anger began to fade from her voice and replace with sadness near the end of her rant.

“Has... Has people hurt him in the past, Chloe?” asked Ladybug nervously. She knew she shouldn't let them see how much Adrien being akumatized had an effect on her because then they might be able to figure out who she is, but she couldn't help it. She wanted to know more about Adrien. She had thought she had learned pretty much everything there was to learn about him from magazines and from being his friend, but now that she knew he was also Cat Noir, she knew there was still so much to learn about him. It was still jarring in her mind to put them together into one person.

“Too many. So many that I am surprised he is still able to see the good in others and keep the smile on his face.” She rubbed her arm and looked sadly at Ladybug. “I don't tend to be the best person, but yet he has never given up on me and stays by my side. I appreciate that about him. I might not be the best person in general, but I want to at least be a good person to him.”

“Adrien? Aaaaadrien? Where are you hiding?” called out the voice of a young girl.

They all froze and looked at the road ahead of them where the voice was coming from. A little girl came into view who was insistently calling out Adrien's name. She had long blond hair tied with bright yellow bows on either side her head. She was wearing a bright yellow dress with small white polka dots that went to her calves. She had frilly white socks on with shiny black Mary Jane shoes. She stopped and her bright blue eyes looked toward them. Ladybug took a step toward her, but Queen Bee grabbed her shoulder to stop her.

“Ladybug, wait! That girl is-”

“Boo!” shouted a little boy's voice.

A black blurred shape of a little boy jumped out of the shadows in front of the little girl. The little boy was a bit different from the other shapes of people that they had seen up until now. The other ones were more blurred and would fade away within moments. He was more clearly there and had detail to him. He had green eyes and had a mouth, but he didn't have any lips. Just a bright gold opening in the shape of a mouth.

“I told you to stop scaring me like that, Adrien!” said the little girl angrily. She stood stiffly and clenched her fists in irritation.

The little boy laughed and grabbed her hand. “Come on, Chloe! Run with me!” The two children ran off together in laughter. Ladybug tried to follow them, but Queen Bee kept her hand on her shoulder.

“Those children are me and Adrikins when we were like six. I dunno how, but they seem to be like a living memory coming from him,” said Queen Bee.

“Does that mean we are getting close to him?” asked Rena Rouge.

“He still feels rather far from us,” said Plagg.

The mist before them began to change colors and paint a picture. It was of a room with white walls and gray carpet. An old woman sat in a rocking chair with her purse on her lap. The young Chloe and the blurred version of a young Adrien came back into view still holding hands and laughing. When they came to the picture, they let go and the young Chloe vanished into a burst of bubbles while the blurred shape of Adrien went into it. When he entered the picture, all of his color returned to him. He no longer looked like a shadow, but even younger than he had just been.

“Granny!” called young Adrien in happiness as he ran up to the old woman. He climbed onto her lap and offered her the book he was holding. “Look, Granny! Mother bought me a book on hamsters. Let me read it to you.”

His grandmother reached into the purse Adrien had pushed to the side to sit on her lap. “I brought you something, Sunshine.” She pulled out a Nintendo DS. “Here you go, little one. You have plenty of books, but not many toys. I heard all the children these days are playing on these things. Have some fun. I even got it in your favorite color.”

Adrien excitedly held the green Nintendo DS with a big smile on his face. Then the door swung open and Gabriel entered the room. The smile immediately was wiped from Adrien's face and he held his toy protectively to his chest. Gabriel scowled at that.

“I have told you before, Beverlie, that I do not approve of my son playing with those things. He is a smart boy. He should be using his time for his studies, not playing with toys,” said Gabriel.

“All he ever does is study. He's four, Gabriel. He needs time to play and be a child,” said his grandmother.

“He will not become an upstanding adult with a high paying job by _playing_. What he needs is a well rounded education and to not fill his head up with childish nonsense.”

“He is not an adult, Gabriel. You already have him speaking and acting like one. This can't possibly be healthy for him.”

“He is my son and I will say how I will raise him. Now say goodbye to your Grandmother and come along, Adrien. This tiring conversation has made you late for your arithmetic lesson.” Gabriel began to walk out of the room, but then suddenly turned around to look at Adrien again. “Oh and do give that thing back to her. You won't be needing it.”

Adrien handed the Nintendo DS back to her. “I'm sorry that I can't have it, Granny.” Gabriel cleared his thought. “I mean... Grandmother. It was very thoughtful, though. Thank you.”

The picture began to change as Ladybug, Queen Bee, Rena Rouge, and Carapace watched with wide eyes. Adrien's past was unfolding before their eyes. The room still had white walls and a gray floor. A still four year old Adrien was sleeping on a bed made for an adult with plain blue covers. The room did not look like that of a child's. It was full of bookshelves with many, many books within them. The only other things in the room were a computer, classical art, and a large globe. Beverlie quietly entered the room and sat on the edge of his bed. Adrien blearily blinked his eyes and sat up.

“Granny?” he said softly, still not quite awake.

She reached into her purse and pulled out the Nintendo DS. “I want you to have this, Sunshine. I bought it for you, but hide it from your father. You deserve to be able to be a child while you are still a child.” She stroked his hair as he rubbed at his eyes. “Promise me, Sunshine. Promise me that no matter what happens, you stay the sweet boy that you are and never lose your shine.”

Adrien yawned and blinked heavily. “I don't understand, Granny. What are you talking about?”

She pressed a kiss to his forehead. “It's okay if you don't understand right now. Just know that I love you no matter what, Sunshine.”

“I love you, too, Granny.”

The scene changed again. This time Adrien now looked to be a year or two older and was wearing all black. He was huddled on the ground in a corner and staring at nothing. The room had tacky carpet and the walls were an awful shade of dark yellow. The room was full of only adults wearing black who were not even acknowledging Adrien's presence. He sat at the furthest spot he possibly could from his grandmother's casket. Andre, Audrey, and Chloe Bourgeois entered the room.

“I am so sorry to hear about your mother-in-law, Gabriel,” said Andre.

They began to converse together and after a few moments, Chloe began to whine that she was bored.

“Then go find something to do while the adults talk, Chloe.”

Chloe huffed. “How am I to do that? Everybody here is a boring grown up!” She was about to whine more when she noticed Adrien in his corner. “Nevermind, Daddy. There is a kid over there.” She ran off to his corner.

  
“Who's child is that?” wondered Andre out loud.

“Mine,” replied Gabriel.

Andre's eyes widened in surprise. “Yours? I didn't even know you had a kid. You never talk about one.”

“I do not make it a habit to talk about my personal life during work.”

“We simply must arrange a play date for them. My little Chloe is such a social butterfly.”

Chloe knelt down to look at Adrien and when he didn't acknowledge her, she poked at him which startled him. “Hi! I'm Chloe. Who are you?”

“Adrien.”

“Why are you here?”

“Because my granny died.”

“Oh. So she was your granny.” Adrien slowly nodded. Chloe tapped at her chin in thought. “Sooo... Did you like her?”

“Very much so.”

Chloe raised an eyebrow at him. “Then why aren't you crying?”

“Because Father said men don't cry.”

Chloe narrowed her eyes. “That's just stupid. If you are sad, then you should cry. That's how it works!” Adrien shrugged his shoulders and went back staring at nothing. Chloe got annoyed and tugged at his arm. “If you don't want to cry, then let's go somewhere and have fun.”

“Fun?”

“Yeah! You do like to fun, right?” Adrien went silent. “Why are you so weird?”

“Am I?”

“Yeah.”

“Sorry. I don't think I have ever talked to someone my age before.”

Chloe looked at him wide eyed. “Never? Did you think you were the only kid in the world?”

“I've seen other kids before. I just... I don't think I have ever actually spoken to one.”

“Don't you go to school?”

“No. Mother teaches me.”

“Wow. You are weird.”

Adrien tightened his arms around his legs. “Is that a bad thing?”

Chloe tapped at her chin in thought. “No. I like weird. My best friend is weird, too. Her name is Sabrina and she is way funner than anyone else. People who aren't weird are so boring.” She pulled at his arm again. “C'mon. Let's go play!” She pulled out a golden bouncy ball. “I sneaked this in with me. Let's see how high we can make it go!”

Ladybug, Queen Bee, Rena Rouge, and Carapace walked forward as the pictures began to form further down the foggy road. They were rapidly changing scenes of Adrien frowning as he worked at his studies and only smiling when he was playing with Chloe. They continued to walk along the road as the pictures continued to form further down it with each scene. They saw the children version of Adrien and Chloe jump on her bed, play hopscotch, run around, play hide and seek, watch movies, and play with dolls only for Adrien to return to his boring, quiet life until she came to visit again. The scenes began to slow down and pick up in volume.

“I hate him! I hate my life! I hate all of this!” shouted Adrien suddenly who now looked to be about seven.

“Then why don't you leave?” asked Chloe as she sipped at her pretend tea.

They were sitting at a bright pink plastic play set table and chairs with a porcelain tea set placed on it. The other chairs were occupied by plush animals.

“How would I do that? I don't have any money.” he asked in exasperation.

Chloe set her teacup down in excitement. “We can do what my Mommy does when she is mad at Daddy! Spend his money! Let's run away together!” She got up and pulled at his arm to get him up as well. “C'mon! I'll show you how!”

They walked through the empty halls of Chloe's mansion together and walked into her parent's bedroom. She went into her mother's purse left on the vanity and pulled out her wallet.

“We can use these magic cards. Mommy shows them to people and gets whatever she wants with them,” said Chloe has she showed him the wallet full of a dozen credit cards.

They left through the front doors of the mansion without a single person noticing them.

“What do we do now?” asked Adrien.

Chloe tapped her chin in thought. “Well... Mommy usually goes to buy clothes. So let's do that!”

She pulled at his arm and they walked down the street. They went into a clothing store and walked to the children section. They grabbed clothes from the racks and went into the dressing rooms to change. They paraded their outfits to each other. Chloe in dresses and skirts and Adrien in suspenders and overalls. They giggled to each other when they swapped clothes with each other. Chloe wore a suit and Adrien spun around in a glittery pink dress.

“You look beautiful, mademoiselle,” said Chloe as she bowed to him in a badly impersonated man voice.

“Why thank you, kind sir,” replied Adrien in a high pitched voice.

They burst into laughter before going back into the rooms to change into their original clothes. They picked out the outfits they liked and went to the cashier.

“Put it on the card,” said Chloe as she pushed one of the cards to the cashier. Her voice sounded to be imitating how her mother said it.

They walked out of the store, dragging along their purchases. They walked along the street when they began to smell ice cream.

“I'm hungry,” said Adrien.

“Let's go get some ice cream then,” said Chloe.

“But I'm not supposed to have sweets until I've eaten my dinner.”

Chloe gave him an odd look. “Hello! We are runaways! We don't have to listen to our parents anymore! We can have ice cream whenever we want.”

Adrien mouth slowly turned into a smile at that. They raced over to the ice cream stand and sat on the bench enjoying their ice cream.

“What do we do after this?” asked Adrien.

Chloe sat in thought for a moment before clapping. “I know! We could elope!”

“What's that?”

She scrunched up her face in confusion. “I dunno. I heard it from a movie.”

They continued to eat their ice cream as the sun began to set.

“It's getting dark. Where do we go?” wondered Adrien aloud.

“Let's go to a hotel. There is one over there.”

They licked at their sticky hands, still carrying their bags, and entered the hotel.

“We would like a room,” said Chloe as she handed the person at the front desk one of the cards.

The concierge raised an eyebrow at the two children. “And where are your parents?”

“Uh... They will be here later.”

A bellhop walked over to the concierge and they whispered to each other for a few moments before the concierge turned back to them. “Of course! Right this way!”

They were led to a spacious two bed room. Once in there, they set their bags down and began to jump on the beds.

“This place is so cool!” said Adrien.

“We should get room service!” said Chloe.

“We can do that?”

“Yeah! Look here is a menu!”

They excitedly looked at the menu before picking up the phone and ordering nearly half of the desert menu. Shortly after, a knock was at their door and when they opened it, instead of room service, it was the police. The police returned the two children to their parents. Adrien's mother was in tears when she hugged him while his father scowled at him.

“You are in a lot of trouble for that stunt, young man,” said his father.

“From now on, we are keeping a closer eye on you,” said his mother.

* * *

Author's Note: For anyone wondering why Gabriel is so strict about Adrien not playing with toys as a small child, but current day Adrien's room is full of toys, that will be explained soon enough. :)


End file.
